BY ADRIAN STEWART CO, IME SORNITO and GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – A magnitude 6.5 earthquake of tectonic origin rocked the municipality of San Julian in Eastern Samar yesterday at around 1:37 p.m. The strong tremor was also felt in other parts of the Visayas in varying intensities.
In Western Visayas, Iloilo City felt the earth move strongest at Intensity IV. Work at the Iloilo provincial capitol and city hall was suspended.
Iloilo province’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. said the safety of provincial capitol employees and the transacting public was paramount.
Mayor Jose Espinosa III agreed. He also ordered a temporary suspension of operations at city hall.
In Negros Occidental, Binalbagan town felt the earthquake at Intensity III while it was Intensity II in Bago City and Bacolod City.
It was also felt at Intensity II in Jamindan and Roxas City in Capiz, Passi City in Iloilo and Malinao in Aklan, while Intensity I was felt in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental.
The earthquake’s epicenter was 19 kilometers west of San Julian, Eastern Samar, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs).
But it was not related to Monday’s 6.1-magnitude quake in Luzon, clarified Phivolcs director Renato Solidum.
According to Atty. Suzette Mamon, Iloilo provincial administrator, an evacuation was effected by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office right after the quake.
Governor Defensor subsequently ordered the Provincial Engineer’s Office to inspect the six-storey capitol for possible damage. There was none save for surface hairline cracks on walls.
At the seven-storey Iloilo City Hall, the Office of the Building Administrator conducted an inspection, too.
No damage was seen, according to Structural Engineer II Cloyd Grecia.
There was no reported damage, too, on other structures in Iloilo City, he added.
The Visayas quake was initially reported at magnitude 6.2 but this was later upgraded to 6.5. It was also felt in the Caraga and Bicol regions.
Intensity V was felt in Tacloban City and Catbalogan City in Samar, while instrumental Intensity IV was also tallied in Masbate City, Legazpi City and Sorsogon City
The Philippines is prone to natural disasters being located on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a horse-shoe shaped band of volcanoes and fault lines that arc round the edge of the Pacific Ocean./PN
